Nebula by Titan unveils Jalsa, a 10-piece limited edition watch

The Hindu

a day ago

A squirrel brush to paint the design using natural gemstone pigments, many trials and errors, and three years later, Padma Shri awardee Shakir Ali's miniature painting graces the new Jalsa. The breathtakingly rare tourbillon timepiece from Nebula by Titan was unveiled recently by Bollywood star Sushmita Sen at a glittering ceremony in Jaipur. One of India's boldest forays yet into global haute horlogerie, Jalsa is also Titan's official entrant to the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) 2025, the world's most prestigious watchmaking forum.
CK Venkataraman, managing director, Titan Company, shared that the timepiece's journey began almost three years ago when they attended the GPHG exhibition in Geneva. 'We collectively dreamed of this moment at that time, and we lifted our standards of watchmaking to an altogether higher level. From a design, engineering, manufacturing and retail point of view, we wanted to lift the standards and the capabilities of Titan through an ultimate sort of entry into the GPHG. Jalsa is a result of that,' he said.
Priced at a whopping ₹40.5 lakh, Jalsa is a 10-piece limited edition watch. Each piece has been painstakingly hand-painted by Shakir Ali, the renowned Jaipur-based artist known for his miniature Persian and Mughal paintings. Being a homage to the 225 years of Hawa Mahal, the painting on the marble dial depicts a royal procession with the Hawa Mahal serving as the backdrop. Quoting Harivansh Rai Bachchan's famous poem Koshish Karne Walon Ki Haar Nahi Hoti, Ali shared that while it was a challenge to paint on such tiny dials, he kept working with different material until they achieved success with marble.
The symbolic intensity of Hawa Mahal aside, Jalsa also stands out for its luminous red agate setting encased in 18k rose gold. Within the Jalsa, there's a Titan in-house flying tourbillon movement, made of 144 precision parts and 14 jewels, crowned with architectural bridges inlaid with red agate. There is also a sapphire magnifier counterpoise on the minute hand and a sapphire crystal exhibition caseback. Said Revathi Kant, chief design officer, Titan Company, 'Jalsa is more than design — it is conviction, legacy, and artistry woven into one extraordinary timepiece. It is the clearest expression yet of our intent to place Indian luxury and craftsmanship firmly on the global map. With this watch, we honour our past — and claim our future.'
Venkatraman admitted that while there is a generation of people who are 45 and above who have a deep affection for the brand, the younger lot may not feel that way. To bridge that gap, Titan is relying on product innovation, retail transformation and brand building in the premium segments. 'It is presenting a completely surprising, unexpected face of the company to whom Titan may not be an automatic choice. Hundreds of thousands of people in the last five-seven years have bought into Titan through these efforts and we are moving up gradually,' he shares.